Offshore pioneer Neil Sims steps down from The Kampachi Company to focus on research

He is reducing his responsibilities with the company to take a consulting role.

Neil Anthony Sims, the co-founder and chief scientific office of groundbreaking Baja Californian offshore venture The Kampachi Company, has stepped back from active involvement with the producer to focus on next generation, “over-the-horizon” technologies at the company's research facility in Kona, Hawaii.

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Jorge Schmidt will remain as CEO of the company, with Sims working as a consultant, advising on research and other questions, a company spokesperson told IntraFish.

The Kampachi Farms facility is pursuing a range of research projects, including improved kampachi diet formulations, selective breeding, cultivation of herbivorous reef fish, and offshore farming of algae for food, feed and biofuel use.

“The Kampachi Company is now producing consistent volumes of King Kampachi, and has recently achieved ASC certification," said Sims. "I now want to focus on new challenges, with longer lead-times, but with the overall aspiration of expanding sustainable offshore aquaculture.

"The research projects in our Kona facility and our Velella Epsilon demonstration net pen in the Gulf of Mexico have the potential to make a significant impact on the future of offshore aquaculture. I’m delighted to be able to now work more closely with our dedicated staff of talented young scientists on these visionary initiatives.”

The company's King Kampachi is farmed offshore, miles from land, anchored in the deep waters and strong currents of the Gulf of California in Baja California Sur.

The sashimi-grade yellowtail, certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, is available in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and will soon be available in Europe and Japan.

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